Japanese Funded Basra Refinery Project

A project to build a new oil refinery in Iraq's southern city of Basra, initially agreed by Iraq and japan in 2012, will begin by the end of the 2018 following financial aid by Japan. The project had been stalled as a result of the insurgence by islamic State across Iraq. The South Refineries Co. is set to call for bids by December for the building of the plant in the southern city of Basra, with plans for construction to begin in early 2019, according to director general Husam Weli. Weli visited Japan in late September to meet with officials of companies wishing to participate in the bidding. Japan, which has already provided around 42 billion yen in loans for the project, will increase financial support to kickstart the project by bringing the total pledged to more than 300 billion yen ($2.6 billion).